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The Ojude Oba Festival 2022 planning committee has commended Nigeria’s beverage giant, Rite Foods limited for its commitment to promoting the cultural heritage of the Ijebu people through the sponsorship of the Ojude-Oba Festival 2022 tagged “The Return of the Ojude-Oba”.
The beverage giant known for refreshing consumers with various flavors of revitalizing carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, tasty on-the-go sausages and fruit drinks across the country and continent is the official beverage sponsor of this year’s Ojude-Oba festival.
The commendation came at a press conference which was held at the Awujale’s palace in Ijebu Ode on Friday to officially flag off the festival slated to hold on Monday, July 11th 2022 at the ancient town of Ijebu Ode.
Chief Dr. Fassy Yusuf, the Baagbimo of Ijebuland and festival coordinator, while speaking at the press conference said that Rite Foods Limited has demonstrated its commitment to promoting the cultural heritage of the Ijebu people through the sponsorship and urged the company to maintain its record of celebrating the peoples’ cultures.
“Rite Foods Limited has always come through for us in situations like this and we must commend them for the effort to promote the cultural heritage of our people. It is our prayer that the company keeps growing in leaps and bounds,” the festival coordinator echoed.
Boluwatife Adedugbe, Brand Manager, Beverage and Bakery, Rite Foods Limited restated her company’s commitment to the promotion of cultural heritage of its people and communities in which it operates. According to her, Rite Foods Limited prides itself as true sons of the soil by joining all sons and daughters of Ijebuland to celebrate the age long festival to honor the paramount ruler of the land.
“For us at Rite Foods Limited, Ojude-Oba is about celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the Ijebu people, most especially by paying homage to the paramount ruler of Ijebuland, His Royal Majesty, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, Ogbagba II. We will always commit to celebrating the Ijebu people and our royal father who bestrides the traditional institution of his people like a colossus; he is an incorruptible leader and statesman who personifies a sagacious, courageous, charismatic, dependable and reliable leader which aligns with our values of excellence and integrity at Rite Foods Limited”, she stated.
The Brand Manager also used the occasion to announce that the festival will provide an opportunity for consumers to experience its newly launched refreshing Sosa fruit drink.
“The platform will be used as another avenue to make a laudable statement on the Rite Foods Ltd just launched refreshing Sosa Fruit Drink”, she added. The sosa fruit drink is available in five flavors – Orange; Apple; Orange, Passion, Mango; Mixed Berries; and Cranberry. All flavors are available for consumers in 35cl and 1Litre packs.
The annual Ojude-Oba Festival is a spectacular celebration of the Ijebu nation of southwestern Nigeria. This age-long cultural heritage and festival of the Ijebus has been in existence for over 2 centuries and the festival is a classic example and manifestation of religious tolerance in Ijebu land.
The host of the festival, the Awujale of Ijebuland, HRM Oba Alaiyeluwa (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona (CFR) Ogbagba II, will be joined by the special guest of honor, the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu and other top dignitaries, traditional rulers and captains of industries from across the country.
Rite Foods Limited which prides itself as a company with the highest number of brands in its sector is set to win the hearts of multitudes of consumers from all walks of life with its array of refreshing brands to give quality satisfaction to all who would grace the Ojude-Oba Festival 2022.
Union Bank, has released the 6th edition of its annual Citizenship, Sustainability and Innovation (CSI) report, which provides an update on the bank’s initiatives across environmental, social and economic areas during 2021.
In furtherance of its role in promoting female entrepreneurship across the country, Nigeria’s premier banking institution and leading financial inclusion services provider, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has announced the launch of the FirstGem fund (FirstGem loan); a single-digit loan scheme, exclusively designed to put women at an advantage in contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.
The FirstGem loan scheme is designed for female-owned or partnered SMEs in the following sectors Food/Beverage processing & Packaging, Beauty and cosmetics, Confectionaries, Catering & Restaurants, Transportation (Logistics) and Agric/Agro-Allied (retail value chain). With an interest rate of 9% per annum, FirstGem loan is a collateral-free loan that is available to the bank’s existing and prospective female customers. Based on eligibility, customers can access loans from N500,000.00 to N3,000,000.00.
To access the loan, Female owned or partnered SMEs can visit the Bank’s website - https://www.
Speaking on the loan Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said, “we are delighted with the role our FirstGem product plays in creating an avenue to enlarge the business activities and endeavours of female entrepreneurs across the country. Our FirstGem value proposition offers real solutions to constraints encountered by female entrepreneurs and working professionals, as it exposes women to opportunities for the advancement of their business. We implore every female business-minded individual to take advantage of the FirstGem loan as it puts them at an advantage to contribute their quota to the national economy.”
Launched in 2016, FirstGem has been impactful in driving financial inclusion, influencing women's empowerment through gender-advancement programmes like savings culture, financial literacy, wealth management and building an investment portfolio. FirstGem is designed specifically to meet the needs of the female gender, aged 18 years and above.
FirstGem is targeted at a broad spectrum of women, working professionals, entrepreneurs or market women through an array of benefits such as free business advisory services, access to finance, specialized training on business development initiatives (virtual and physicalevents), regular insights on business / investment opportunities. and mouth-watering discounts at partner merchant outlets (spas, salons, grocery stores) offering lifestyle products and services.
Recently, FirstBank announced its partnership with CDC Group, the UK Government’s development finance organisation to economically empower women-owned and led businesses as well as local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. The facility, which is in the sum of US$100 million will have a minimum of 30% allocated in the form of credit lines to women entrepreneurs.
Africa No Filter, a donor collaborative working to transform stereotypical narratives of Africa, has launched the Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund. Named after African business leader and philanthropist Tony O. Elumelu, the Fund will award grants to emerging artists and storytellers, whose work shines a light on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa.
The $30,000 fund is sponsored by Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life Assurance, the insurance subsidiaries of the pan-African investment group, Heirs Holdings.
Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, has led the championing of entrepreneurship in Africa and has empowered over 15,000 young African entrepreneurs across the continent through a $100 million commitment made by his Foundation.
The Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund is a standalone initiative and an extension of his commitment to catalysing a redefined African success story, powered by Africa’s youth and their creative ideas. The Fund calls on journalists, filmmakers, content producers, and visual and performing artists to submit multimedia creative ideas, that tell the stories of inspiring entrepreneurs and showcase the true and positive spirit of entrepreneurship in Africa. Applicants must be aged between 18 and 35 years, living on the continent or in the Diaspora. They must have a platform or portfolio of work that shines the light on entrepreneurship in Africa.
Speaking on the Fund, Tony Elumelu said: “I have always believed in the potential of young African entrepreneurs to transform Africa. This initiative aligns with our belief and extends the work that we do at the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Empowering young creative entrepreneurs and the creative sector provides a channel for us to project Africa’s positives globally. We need their voices to tell our often less-told stories of triumph, resilience, hard work and innovation.”
Moky Makura, Executive Director at Africa No Filter, said: “Our partnership Is significant because this is the first African funding we have received towards the fight for narrative change. We are also excited to be partnering with one of Africa’s leading entrepreneurs to celebrate entrepreneurship on the continent through storytelling. We need more success stories, more awareness and more celebrations around entrepreneurial ideas and the dynamic young people driving change here
Ifesinachi Okpagu, Chief Marketing Officer, Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life, said: “We are pleased to support this initiative that directly impacts the lives of young African creatives. As frontrunners of digital innovation in the insurance space, Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life both recognise the important role the creative sector plays in transforming Africa’s narrative. We are on the same transformative path, and this initiative clearly demonstrates that the ideas that we need to boost Africa are right here on the continent.”
The Fund is open for applications on the Africa No Filter website with a closing date of 29 July 2022.
Since his appointment as MD/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Limited in 2016, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan has completely transformed the financial institution and has made it attractive to every strata of the society. From an institution that used to be perceived as an old-generation bank, FirstBank is now a darling to all as it leverages latest digital tools to meet its customers’ needs. Also, under Adeduntan’s leadership, the 128-year old bank has made huge contributions to national development, thereby stimulating development, setting standards and motivating excellent output across sectors. Clearly, these contributions to national development were what endeared Adeduntan to President Muhammadu Buhari who recently saluted him on his recognition by Cranfield University, UK, one of the most prestigious citadels of learning in Europe. Adeduntan will on Wednesday, June 22, be conferred with Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa and he would be delivering an address to the graduating class of the university. This feat, the president in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Femi Adesina, described as, “another testament to the fact that Nigeria is blessed with the brightest and the best in all areas of human endeavor.” Buhari lauded Adeduntan for being a role model to the younger generation, showing that hard work pays, and with resourcefulness and doggedness, great heights are achievable.
Adeduntan holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Ibadan, Master’s in Business Administration from Cranfield University, and is Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), as well as Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
The president sent best wishes to Adeduntan and family as he hoisted Nigeria’s flag proudly to receive an honor Cranfield University said was in recognition of his outstanding contribution to business. Incidentally, Buhari’s commendation came on the day the bank successfully held its AGM which showed a stellar performance in its financials, a transformational result that put the bank on course to reclaiming its leadership position of the financial sector.
Adeduntan has a distinguished career in finance having held senior positions at Citibank Nigeria, KPMG and Arthur Andersen Nigeria. He studied at Cranfield University as a British Chevening Scholar, achieving an MBA in 2005.
Commenting on the honour by Cranfield University, the FirstBank boss said: “I am extremely humbled and most grateful to the university for this recognition. My time at Cranfield served as a catalyst for my professional and personal development propelling me to the leadership position I occupy today.
“I am a firm believer in talent management, being vital to further accelerate Africa’s growth to enable it to benefit from its demographic dividend and the opportunities therein. I look forward to sharing my experiences with the students on the universal applicability of the skills the Cranfield MBA provides to positively impact the world.”
On his part, the Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University, Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng also congratulated Adeduntan, saying: “It is an honour to welcome Dr Adeduntan back to Cranfield to recognise all his professional achievements in this way. His own experience at Cranfield University has propelled his career forward and this serves as a true inspiration for our graduates both this year and in the future.”
Indeed, Adeduntan is an accomplished professional with distinctive international and domestic experience in commercial and investment banking, development finance, audit, and consulting; a philanthropist and leader with keen interest in providing platforms for the development of other young leaders.
The FirstBank Group, the commercial banking arm of FBN Holdings Plc, which he heads is made up of First Bank of Nigeria and subsidiaries including FBNBank UK, FBNBank DRC, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Senegal, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Sierra Leone and First Pension Custodian as well as Representative Offices in France and China.
Adeduntan is overseeing one of the most extensive transformation programmes in sub-Saharan African financial services industry, with the goal to reposition FirstBank Group to market pre-eminence.
He is leading FirstBank Group on the journey to win the most significant emerging business opportunities in the financial services industry through the development and execution of a digital-led strategy that has established FirstBank as the dominant player in digital banking.
FirstBank Group’s transformation programme, under the leadership of Adeduntan has enabled the bank to grow customer accounts from about 10 million in 2015 to over 36 million (including digital wallets), become the second largest issuer of cards in Africa with over 11.8 million issued cards, onboard over 18.6 million active customers on FirstBank’s digital banking platforms, and initiate and grow the most expansive bank-led Agent Banking Network in Africa with over 170,000 agents.
His career in banking and finance, spanning almost three decades, has earned him various recognitions and awards including Forbes Best of Africa – Outstanding Leader in Africa, Distinguished Alumnus Award by both the Cranfield University’s School of Management and the University of Ibadan, African Banking Personality of the Year, African Banker of the Year Award; Banking Icon of the Decade by the Sun Newspapers and induction into the African Leadership Magazine (ALM) Hall of Fame, Honorary Citizenship of the State of Georgia and Congressional Commendation Award from the Georgia Senate – USA, Bank CEO of the Year by the AES Excellence Club and several other awards.
He has attended various executive and leadership programmes at Harvard Business School (USA), Wharton School (USA), London Business School (UK), IESE (Spain), University of Oxford (UK), University of Cambridge (UK), CEIBS (China) and INSEAD (France). He is a fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
Adeduntan’s leadership drive also reflected in First Bank Nigeria Limited’s recently released full year 2021 financial statement. The results clearly showed the strength and resilience of the iconic African elephant as well as the financial institution’s leadership in the industry. The impressive results were a reflection of the robust strength and growth of the iconic African elephant, showing that the bank has taken its rightful position among the industry leaders.
In addition, it showed the level of work the current board, management and staff of the bank have put in to turn the tide in the 128 years old institution with entrenched corporate governance.
The full year 2021 performance by the bank represented a shift in the financial institution’s performance trajectory and was made possible through its undeterred commitment in pursuing its transformational agenda; cutting across customer-led innovation, building a digitalised bank, culture change, reinventing the bank’s workplace and safeguarding its assets for the digital age.
For the first time, FirstBank Group posted the best result in more than a decade history of the bank by crossing the N100 billion profit line. Specifically, in the full year 2021 financial statement, the FirstBank Group reported a 73.9 per cent growth in its profit after tax to N117.8 billion, as against the N67.8 billion recorded as of December 2020, just as its profit before tax stood at N130.9 billion, which was a significant rise by 77.9 per cent year-on-year, as against the N73.6 billion it was as of December 2020.
FirstBank’s gross earnings also increased by 30.3 per cent to N716.8 billion in 2021, up from N550.3 billion it was as of December 2020. Also, it recorded non-interest income of N342.2 billion in the year under review, which was 106.4 per cent higher than the N165.8 billion recorded as of December 2020. As a result of years of strategic restructuring of its balance sheet and operations, its gross earnings also moved northwards by 30.3 per cent, its total assets was up 15.9 per cent to N8.5 trillion as of the end of 2021, as against the N7.4 trillion recorded the previous year, just as its customer deposits also climbed by 19.5 per cent to N5.6 trillion, up from the N4.7 trillion recorded the previous year. The bank’s customer loans and advances also improved by 28 per cent to N2.8 trillion in the year under review, up from N2.2 trillion the previous year.
FirstBank has shown innovation, resilience and commitment to growth by significantly reducing its non-performing loans (NPL) from 25% in 2016 to an acceptable level of 6.1% in 2021.
To demonstrate that the bank’s performance in 2021 was not a fluke, the Bank equally performed excellently well in Q1 2022. FirstBank recorded 32% increase in gross earnings to N180bn in Q1’22 from N136.6bn in Q1’21. Profit after tax was up 108% to N32.4 billion (Q1’22) relative to N15.6 billion (Q1’21). This impressive performance is hinged on robust loan portfolio, effective cost structure and increased digital services.FirstBank recorded the highest decline in its cost-to-income ratio in Q1 2022, dropping from 79.5% recorded in Q1 2021 to 67.03% amongst tier-1 Banks in the review period.
With FirstBank under Adeduntan, the safety of customers and the security of their transactions come first. This has ensured the bank keeps the trust of Nigerians gained over the many years of its enduring legacy of safety and security.
The bank also delivers unique and bespoke financial services solutions across all customer segments underpinned by its commitment to innovation and the customer experience. It also leverages its strong investment banking capabilities to support clients in defining and executing innovative debt solutions as well as offer strategic advice at the highest level, arrange tailor-made financing structures, manage risk and ultimately help clients to realise their aspirations
Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership.
Over the years, the bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the federal government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner. It is expected that the leadership excellence and recognitions accorded to Adeduntan would continue to reflect positively on the FirstBank brand and fundamentals of the bank so that the elephant will continue to stand ‘gidigba.’
Culled from ThisDay
In the first three months of the 2022 financial year, Dangote Cement has recorded a 24.2 percent increase in its revenue and an 18 percent increase in its profit after tax for the same period.
Unaudited results for three months ended 31st March 2022, showed revenue of N413.2 billion and a profit after tax of₦105.9 billion.
Analysis of the cement giant’s three months results indicated that Dangote Cement sold a total volume of 7.2Mt of cement across the group with Nigerian operations accounting for 4.8Mt while the rest of Africa did the balance of 2.4Mt.
Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Cement, Michel Puchercos, in his comments, said that the company started the first quarter on a positive note despite the new uncertainties brought by a very volatile global environment. He stated that increases recorded in revenue and profitability drove strong cash generation across the Group. Profit after Tax rose to ₦105.9 billion, up 18 percent compared to last year while Group EBITDA rose to ₦211.0 billion, by 18.6 percent with an EBITDA margin of 51.1 percent.
Puchercos said, “On the operational side, we are ramping up production at our Okpella plant and are progressing well to deploy grinding plants in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Demand remained strong across all markets, and we remain confident that Dangote Cement is positioned to meet customers’ expectations despite these temporary challenges.
Continuing our efforts to deliver shareholder value, Dangote Cement completed the second tranche of its buyback programme. Following the completion of both tranches, Dangote Cement has now bought back 0.98% of its shares outstanding. This share buy-back programme reflects the Company’s commitment in finding opportunities beyond dividend to return cash to shareholders.”
Puchercos added, “the volatile international context is strengthening our efforts to ramp up the usage of alternative fuels and execution of our export-to-import strategy. Reducing our dependence on imported inputs and making our markets self-sufficient has never been more relevant from a regional perspective.
Our continuous focus on efficiency, meeting strong market demand and maintaining our costs leadership drives our ability to consistently deliver superior profitability and value to all shareholders.”
Dangote Cement is Africa's leading cement producer with nearly 51.6Mta capacity across Africa. A fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer, it has a production capacity of 35.25Mta in its home market, Nigeria. The Obajana plant in Kogi State, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 16.25Mta of capacity across five lines; Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta while Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta; and Okpella plant in Edo state has 3Mta. Through recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria's dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into an exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries.
As part of this year's Children's Day celebration, Rite Foods Limited, a market leader in Nigeria's food and beverage sector, has sponsored lots of exciting activities by various organisations for kids to make the day memorable, as a consumer-centric company.
Marked annually on 27 May, is the commemorative date for children, who are termed as future leaders, and fun-filled, as Rite Foods threw its weight behind lots of initiatives organised in Nigeria to connect with its younger consumers.
As a truly world-class company and maker of the 13 variants of the Bigi carbonated soft drink (CSD), and Rite Spicy, Bigi Beef, and Rite Sausages, for children, the company is poised in refreshing kids with quality brands that appeal to their taste at all occasions.
The company's product line also includes the premium Bigi Table Water, produced with global best practices in purification, for freshness, confidence, and reliability, and the Fearless energy drink brands that consist of the Fearless Classic and Fearless Red Berry, the first-ever packaged polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle products, that has been the hallmark of distinctiveness in the industry.
Given that, Rite Foods sponsored the Nigerian Future Leaders Festival Children's Day event; Lenox Mall Children's Day Celebration; Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Entertainment; Stanbax Schools' event; 32 FM event; Celebrations held by Love for a Child; Eko Hotel Children's Day event; Ogun State First Lady Initiative for Children; Live Abundantly and many other platforms.
At these events held to mark the day, Rite Foods made available its award-winning products with their unique taste for reinvigorating moments, to keep the children satisfied and electrified.
Commenting on the huge support, Rite Foods' Brand Manager, Boluwatife Adedugbe, said it is part of the many ways of the company to connect with children that constitute its target market and to make them happy in times of celebration, with unparalleled brands that have set the pace in the food and beverage industry of Africa' largest economy.
She avowed that with the Bigi products and Rite Sausages, the children were rejuvenated to stay delighted and active in their performances for the day.
The company has been at the forefront of promoting worthy projects that impact positively on its consumers, like the recent Nigerian Idol Season 7, sponsored by the Bigi brand, among others, for musical talent discovery among young Nigerian singers. It was aimed at supporting their dreams of becoming superstars and strengthening the Nigerian entertainment industry.
With a significant cut in its impairment charges (which translates into a clean loan book) in its 1Q, 2022 results, after it successfully brought down its non-performing loan to 6.1 per cent in 2021 full year performance, analysts say the repeat of the impressive performance of First Bank in the first quarter did not only show the consistency in its rebound, but that it demonstrated the fact that the recovery is real.
For the shareholders of the Nigerian banking behemoth, First Bank Nigeria Limited, it is a season of celebration and a period to shower praises on the board and management of the bank for successfully working its way back into reckoning, after a long period of operational challenges mostly blamed on rising cases of non-performing loans.
The shareholders, who joined other stakeholders of the bank and its parent company, FBN Holdings Plc., in appraising its first-quarter 2022 results made public last week, said it is a great relief that the organisation has put the issue of non-performing loans behind it.
According to them, the outstanding results for the bank’s full-year 2021 is an appetiser to the first-quarter 2022 results and that the repeat of impressive results for the first quarter did not only show the consistency of its restructuring but that it demonstrated the fact that the recovery is real.
Shareholders’ endorsement
The founder and pioneer National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association, Sunny Nwosu, in an interview with THISDAY, at the weekend, said the management of First Bank deserves praise for working the bank back to profitability and clean loan book.
He believes the ability of the FBN Holdings, the parent company, to significantly cut the exposure to non-performing loans to 6.1 per cent showed that the bank has shut the door against future delinquent debtors, a development he said will consolidate the bank.
Nwosu said many of the shareholders were pleasantly surprised first, by the performance in the 2021 full results, saying the first quarter 2022 results came as a confirmation of the readiness of the bank to take its leadership position in the nation’s banking industry.
“Considering all the provisions they had made in the past two years and for them to have come out clean shows it is not a bad result and for them to have agreed to pay 35 kobo dividend to shareholders, it is encouraging because most shareholders did not know the company was going to pay anything, especially with all the challenges going on in the economy.
“We are indeed excited that they have been able to bring down non-performing loans, which means they will have more money to do business with and I’m quite sure they will be more careful this time when it comes to giving out loans,” Nwosu stated.
He maintained that First Bank can still return to the leadership position in the Nigerian banking industry, saying the current leadership should keep an eye on the business and encourage the staff with a good incentive to compete in the industry.1Q 2022 results
Analysts said the bank has remained dazzling in virtually all its performance metrics, a development they attributed to the NPL improvements which restored investors’ confidence. And success with NPL means the quality of assets is bound to rise.
An analysis of the bank performance gleaned from the group Q1, 2022 results showed that its exposure to bad loans has substantially reduced given the fact that the amount set aside as impairment charges has come down from N13.175 billion in the first quarter of 2021 to N8.75billion in 1Q 2022.
In the period under review, First Bank Limited recorded gross earnings of N170.4 billion, up by 33 per cent as against N128.1billion in the previous year.
The bank’s net interest income was put at N72.9 billion, a 42.1 per cent from N51.3 billion generated in the same period of 2021, while non-interest income was N58.8 billion, up by 21.7 per cent from the 2021 figure.
Profit After Tax for the first quarter of 2022 was N31billion, whereas N16.3 billion was the figure declared for 1Q, 2021. The bank declared total assets of N8.8 trillion, a 3.5 per cent rise from N8.5 trillion in the preceding year.
To show the bank was in a serious business of lending, its customers’ loans and advances (net) totalled N2.999 trillion, up by 5.8 per cent, year-to-date as of December 2021, which was put at N2.835 trillion, while customers’ deposits were N5.9 trillion, as against N5.6 trillion in the first quarter of 2021, a 5.4 per cent increase.
Building confidence in operation
Analysts believed the recent turnaround and improvement in the Non-performing loans of First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) have been a major boost in the bank’s quest to reinforce its leadership in the financial services industry in Nigeria.
For instance, it has been observed that the current leadership of its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Adesola Adeduntan has been instrumental in building stakeholders’ confidence and trust in the bank’s financial viability with analysts left to ponder and perhaps, understudy the pace of such feat has been achieved. They said answers to these have been provided by the bank’s consistent improvements in its Non-performing Loans (NPL) ratio and position.
For instance, by June 2020, when improvements were noted in the bank’s NPL ratio, the NPL ratio stood at 8.8 per cent. By March 2021, this figure had impressively dwindled to 7.9 per cent, and going by the 2021 results, the figure only stood at 6.1 per cent.
Non-performing loans, or ‘NPLs’, are bank loans that are subject to late repayment or are unlikely to be repaid by the borrower. The inability of borrowers to pay back their loans was aggravated during the financial crisis and the subsequent recessions.
For a bank that was almost brought to its knees by the burden of non-performing loans, it came as a great relief to both the shareholders and the regulatory authorities that for the first time in a long while, First Bank’s NPLs came down to 6.1 per cent, a significant progress for the bank when compared to other Tier 1 banks and the regulatory threshold of 5.0per cent.
Analysts also attributed the significant fall in the NPL rates from 40 in 2016 to 6.5 per cent in 2021, to a new culture of corporate governance currently in place in the group and which has successfully revamped the company’s risk management capabilities.
According to the bank, the recent turnaround and improvement in the non-performing loans have been a major boost in FirstBank’s quest to improve profitability and reinforce its leadership in the financial services industry in Nigeria.
Analysts said with the impressive results for its 2021 operations, the board and management of FBN have proven to the investing community that the company is ready to take its leadership role in the nation’s banking sector and that the years of locusts have been put behind the institution.
Maintaining fairly manageable NPL ratio
For a sector already under pressure as a result of a sluggish economy, a challenging operating environment, and increased competitive intensity, the year 2022 came with a lot of fears for the Nigerian banking industry.
As economic realities dawned on Nigerians, especially in a pre-election year, many investors struggled to get decently priced loans in Nigerian banks, and their plight is not helped when a bank is risk-averse because it already has lots of bad loans on its books.
It is interesting to note that amidst the huge pressure placed on Nigerian banks by the prevailing sluggish economy, what the management of First Bank did was diversify its loan books and maintained a fairly manageable Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio.
This is because the percentage of non-performing loans in Nigeria reflects the health of the banking system. A higher percentage of such loans shows that banks have difficulty collecting interest and principal on their credits. That may lead to less profits for the banks in Nigeria and, possibly, bank closures.
First Bank recorded the highest NPL ratio in four years with 24.7 per cent in 2018 which dropped to 9.9 per cent, 7.7 per cent, 7.2 per cent in the period of 2019, 2020, and 6.1 per cent in the 2021 full-year results.
Adeduntan: ‘We are ready to improve bottom line performance’
Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank Group, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, who expressed the determination of the bank to aim higher said, “At FirstBank, we have historically been interwoven with the fabric of this nation with a full-service commercial banking offering catering to every segment of the economy.
“We believe we are now in a good position to translate this unique revenue generating potential into improved bottom-line performance.
“Our first-quarter results demonstrate that we have commenced our journey of Quantum Profitability Leap in earnest with profit before tax doubling to N34.1 billion as the Bank begins to reap the dividends of the successful restructuring of its balance sheet, revamped risk management, robust technology, and innovative service offerings.
“Our gross earnings are also up 33.0 per cent YoY to N170.4bn and Net Interest Income up 42.1 per cent YoY to N72.9bn. Furthermore, our strengthened risk management capabilities equip us with the ability to mitigate any negative effect of headwinds that may materialise given current macroeconomic pressures.
“Looking ahead, we will continue to maximise all opportunities presented by our large network, and support our customers with innovative value-adding solutions through these uncertain times while investing in strengthening our digital banking offerings to deliver a better customer experience.”
Akinmade, who stated this during a chat with the media, citing a recent EFInA report, said that “there are 51 million Nigerian women above 18 years of age, with over 41% of the unbanked. Out of these figures, it is estimated that there are 14-18 million female entrepreneurs – mainly in the micro SME category”.
Recall that Unity Bank launched the women-focused Yanga account in November 2021 to promote financial inclusion and cater to unbanked women entrepreneurs across Nigeria in the MSME space.
Therefore, the new retail product is designed to deepen its beneficial impact on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs operated by women in the mass-market retail space.
According to Akinmade, “Recent research has shown that Nigeria has the highest number of women entrepreneurs in the world, with an estimated 40 million SMEs, of whom women constitute approximately 42%.
“These women have proved beyond reasonable doubt that they have the capacity to create wealth and contribute productively to the economy. However, a lot more needs to be done and it starts with empowering them with the right tools to harness this entrepreneurship potential.
“Currently, they face many institutional and cultural hurdles while starting or running their businesses. For instance, a recent report shows that only 22% of female entrepreneurs have access to finance against 34% of males.
“This is part of why we have introduced Yanga to bridge this gap while also narrowing the population of underbanked women entrepreneurs”.
Akinmade further explained that the Unity Yanga product will play a critical role in boosting financial inclusion and narrowing the underbanked women population as the account comes with a unique product proposition that includes an easy to operate and free to open a Savings account, with no identification required, customized debit card, dedicated sales officers.
He identified other unique features including special banking agents in each market location and quarterly Seminars at main market locations anchored by Unity Bank and its alliance partners.
“By rolling out this scheme across all geopolitical regions, Unity bank’s objective is to work assiduously towards reducing the huge numbers of underbanked women in the country,” he added.
A key part of the Yanga Product experience is (1) micro-loans and (2) HMO-offering
The micro-loan would be availed with time-tested Credit Policies, backed with technology-based credit scoring. These would help detect frivolous applications as well as reduce NPLs.
Yanga is available to all women entrepreneurs nationwide. The Bank is currently conducting market activations in strategic locations across the country with its brand ambassador, popular Nollywood actor, Sola Sobowale. So far, the Yanga activation train has been to Gombe, Akwa Ibom, and Ibadan and is currently in Lagos and en-route Port Harcourt.
Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd (GTBank), the banking subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO Plc or the Group), emerged winner in four major categories at the 12th annual Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands 2022 rankings of the Top 100 Most Admired Brands in Africa. The award is an initiative by Brand Africa aimed at driving Africa’s competitiveness and creating a positive image through strong brands with GeoPoll, the world’s leading mobile surveying platform, and Kantar, a well-respected consumer insights and data analytics company, as key technical partners.
In the presentation ceremony held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, GTBank retained the number #1 spot as Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Africa, Most Admired Financial Services Brand in West Africa, and Most Admired Financial Services Brand in Nigeria for the second year in a row. GTBank also ranked as the Most Admired Nigerian Financial Services brand in recognition of its excellent positioning, strength, and reach beyond Africa.
In an inaugural feature of the awards ceremony, Mr Segun Agbaje, the Group CEO of GTCO Plc, was conferred with the Africa Brand Leadership Excellence award for his pivotal role in inspiring brand-led excellence that drives the growth of ‘Made in Africa’ brands and businesses and his long-standing contributions to the financial services industry. Mr Agbaje led GTBank through a decade of unparalleled growth and now oversees the Holding Company. The Group recently concluded the acquisition of key businesses in fund management and pension operating as Guaranty Trust Fund Managers Ltd and Guaranty Trust Pension Managers Ltd.
Commenting on the awards, Mr Segun Agbaje, said: “As a leading financial services company, we are always looking for new ways to meet every customer need and to do more to help our customers and communities thrive by creating faster, cheaper, safer and products for people and businesses through every stage of life. The awards are testament to our boundless innovative capacity and the power of the Guaranty Trust brand to touch and enrich lives as a Proudly African and Truly International institution.’’
He further stated that, “As we grow and expand as a Group, we remain committed to our founding values which have endeared our brand to millions of people across Africa and beyond, and which continue to drive our financial success. We will leverage the synergies within our holding company to drive Africa’s growth and achieve our vision of making end-to-end financial services easily accessible to every African.”
As financial market analysts continue to digest the 2021 financial results of the FirstBank Limited, which they say reflect the return of the banking conglomerate to its leadership position, Festus Akanbi writes that the regime of strong fundamentals which the robust performance represents is in tandem with the ongoing restructuring being midwifed by the current board and management of the company
The Nigerian investing community was held spellbound earlier in the week when First Bank released its much-awaited 2021 financial statements to the public, showing a stellar performance, especially in its banking subsidiary, which is said to be indicative of its strong recovery from its hitherto dwindling financial position.
Banking and capital market analysts, in their immediate reactions, said the impressive results signpost a regime of strong fundamentals after a period of restructuring by the leadership of the bank.
Record Performance
One remarkable feature of this result is the fact that for the first time, the bank was able to cross the threshold of N100 billion profit as it declared a Profit After Tax of N130.9billion, a 77.9 per cent improvement over the previous year’s figure of N73.6 billion. The new figure which represents the best result in more than a decade of history of the bank shows a clear departure from results for previous years.
The Scorecard
To mitigate the effect of the low-interest rate on investment securities and revenue generation, the bank was said to have intensified deposit mobilisation and funding strategy to support enhanced loan growth at optimised rates leading to a 5.7% increase in interest expense to N140.8 billion as against N133.2 billion in December 2020.
During the period, non-interest revenue grew by 96.1% to N364.6 billion as against N185.9 billion in the preceding year on the back of increased fees and commission income, treasury activities, and other operating income.
According to a report by Nairametrics, in its bid to further enhance its revenue generation capacity, First Pension Custodian Limited, a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, entered into a definitive agreement with Access Bank Plc for the planned acquisition of the entire share capital of Access Pension Fund Custodian Limited held by Access Bank Plc. This, according to the management of the bank will further boost its market share in the industry, aid revenue diversification, and support annuity income.
The bank says it will continue to create quality loans with a focus on retail lending driven by technology as it continues to grow non-interest income to further diversify revenue.
To show for the relentless efforts of the board and management of the bank, deposits from customers increased by 19.5% y-o-y to N5.9 trillion (Dec 2020: N4.9 trillion) reaffirming the bank’s strong market access and robust funding base.
A statement from the bank said, “Our investment in agent banking, digitalisation, and deployment of digital platforms which our customers have adopted, improved customer penetration and deepened our solid retail franchise. This continues to provide us with access to stable funding, reducing our cost of fund ratio to 2.1% (Dec 2020: 2.3%) while supporting the float of our current and savings account at 91.2% (First Bank of Nigeria).”
In the same vein, total assets grew 16.2% y-o-y to N8.9trillion as against N7.7trillion in 2020, driven by a 30.0% y-o-y increase in customer loans and 26.3% increase y-o-y in investment securities. Cash and balances with Central Banks, loans to banks & customers, and investment securities constitute 87.2% of total assets (Dec 2020: 83.4%).
“With a cleaner balance sheet and resilient earnings-generating capacity, FirstBank (Nigeria) was able to accrete capital buffers from organic earnings. Hence, despite the increase in loans and advances, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained steady, marginally increasing to 17.4% (Dec 2020: 17.0%),” the report said.
Meanwhile, the audited report for the group indicated an impressive double-digit growth in the top line and the bottom line. Gross earnings rose from N590.66 billion in 2020 to N757.30 billion in 2021. Profit before tax doubled by 99.1 per cent to N166.66 billion in 2021 as against N83.7 billion in 2020. Profit after tax grew by 68.4 per cent from N75.6 billion to N151.079 billion. Earnings per share thus increased from N2.45 in 2021 to N4.17 in 2021.
Its balance sheet also gives cause for joy to its stakeholders as its total assets rose from N7.69 trillion in 2020 to N8.93 trillion in 2021. Customers’ deposits grew to N5.85 trillion in 2021 as against N4.9 trillion in 2020. Loans and advances to customers also improved from N2.21 trillion to N2.88 trillion. With total liabilities rising from N6.92 trillion to N8.05 trillion, shareholders’ funds increased from N765.17 billion in 2020 to N879.86 billion in 2021.
A quick analysis of the performance shows a progressive trajectory that has portrayed First Bank as an organisation that has recovered from past episodic challenges that led to a change of baton at its board level.
Analysts are quick to point at the recent restructuring exercise in the organisation as the launchpad for the excellent balance sheet operations which translated into a 30.3 per cent rise in its gross earnings, while total assets and customer deposits rose by 15.9 per cent and 19.5 per cent respectively.
The audited report also confirmed Mr. Femi Otedola as the largest individual shareholder of the group, with total direct and indirect shareholdings of 7.57 per cent.
Fall in NPLs, Boost to Profitability
For a bank that was almost brought to its knees by the burden of non-performing loans, it came as a great relief to both the shareholders and the regulatory authorities that for the first time in a long while, First Bank’s NPLs came down to 6.1 per cent, significant progress for the bank when compared to other Tier 1 banks and the regulatory threshold of 5.0per cent.
Analysts also attributed the significant fall in the NPL rates from 40 in 2016 to 6.5 per cent in 2021, to a new culture of corporate governance currently in place in the group and which has successfully revamped the company’s risk management capabilities.
According to the bank, the recent turnaround and improvement in the non-performing loans have been a major boost in FirstBank’s quest to improve profitability and reinforce its leadership in the financial services industry in Nigeria.
Analysts said with the impressive results for its 2021 operations, the board and management of FBN have proven to the investing community that the company is ready to take its leadership role in the nation’s banking sector and that the years of locusts have been put behind the institution.
A Transition to Sustained Growth
In their view, First Bank, with these impressive results has demonstrated the fact that is transitioning into a sustained growth phase and delivering performance commensurate with the size of its business capabilities of its people.
And for the shareholders of the company, it was a harvest time with N12.56 billion set aside as divided, about 8.3 percent of the total net earnings recorded in 2021.
A capital market analyst, Mr. David Edobor explained that the major transformation in First Bank, as evident in its mouth-watering performance should be attributed to the doggedness and determination of the new leadership of the bank. His view was corroborated by a source from the company who explained that the performance was driven by a relentless focus on the needs of customers and improving the competitiveness of the bank’s offerings.
“We have sharpened our “Go to Market” approach to better leverage the opportunities which our large scale provides, in addition to becoming more relevant to our clients by improving our value propositions.”
Over the years, FirstBank has been able to grow customer accounts from about 10 million in 2015 to over 36 million (including digital wallets). It also became the second-largest issuer of cards in Africa with over 11.8million issued cards, onboard over 18.6 million active customers on First Bank digital banking platforms.
New Hands, New Culture of Excellence
Market watchers said although some of the impressive figures represented the performance of the bank before the coming of the current leadership, analysts said the good news coming from the organisation will greatly challenge the incumbent board and management to push the frontier of excellent performance in the company.
It would be recalled that the bank was able to stabilise after a leadership tussle at the board level. However, with the triumph of Adeduntan and his return to his post, the foremost bank has been recording stellar performances.
Part of the changes was the emergence of the chairman of Geregu Power Plc, Femi Otedola as the highest single shareholder of the company.
An elated Chief Executive Officer of First Bank, the banking arm of the holding company, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, described the success of the commercial banking business as the beginning of the transition into a sustained growth phase.
He said, “Following years of strategic restructuring of the Bank’s balance sheet and operations, the Commercial Banking business is beginning to transition into a sustained growth phase delivering performance commensurate to the size of our business and capabilities of our people. Profit before tax is up 77.9%, gross earnings 30.3%, total assets 15.9%, and customer deposits up 19.5%.”
This performance, according to him, was driven by a relentless focus on the needs of customers and improving the competitiveness of the bank’s offerings. “We have sharpened our ‘Go To Market’ approach to better leverage the opportunities which our large scale provides in addition to becoming more relevant to our clients by improving our value propositions.
“This performance is also in line with the Bank’s Quantum Profitability Leap agenda which seeks to ensure that we fully maximise the revenue-generating capacity of our business to boost the bottom line and fulfil the expectations of all stakeholders in the business,” Adeduntan stated.
FirstBank engages in the business of commercial banking and has many subsidiaries that focus on international commercial banking, trusteeship, capital markets, pension fund custodianship, mortgage financing, insurance brokerage, and management of SMIEIS fund investments, small-scale banking, and bureau de change activities....Culled from Thisday
Aura by Transcorp Hotels, the online booking platform which allows people to book hotels and short let apartments, experiences, and order food anywhere in Nigeria, has received a Special Recognition Award for Tourism Innovation at the 5th edition of the Nigeria Tourism Awards. According to the organisers of the award, the recognition is aimed at celebrating industry icons who have contributed to the growth of tourism in Nigeria.
"We are proud to receive the Special Recognition Award for Tourism Innovation less than a year after our official launch. With aura by Transcorp Hotels, we cater to the three major things people think about when they travel – where they stay, what they eat, and things to do. With our verified accommodation – hotels and apartments – and carefully curated experiences, we have over the past 10 months shown people reasons to travel within the country, whether for business or leisure, solo or as a family or group," said Ifeoma Okafor-Obi Business Development Director, aura by Transcorp Hotels.
"With just a few clicks on our platform, users can be on their way to enjoy their best staycation ever, visiting hidden gems in different parts of the country and staying in hotels and apartments that feels like home, Okafor-Obi added.
Also commenting on the recognition, Dupe Olusola Managing Director/CEO Transcorp Hotels Plc, owners of aura by Transcorp Hotels stressed that the platform has proven to be a tool for revolutionising domestic tourism in Nigeria.
"World over, governments use domestic tourism as a tool to eliminate poverty, generate employment, improve economic growth, upgrade infrastructure, as well as support and develop local and national pride. As Nigeria's leading hospitality company, we have set the pace in providing a platform that shows people beautiful places to travel across Nigeria, and gets the perfect place to stay, improving the attractiveness of different destinations in the country," the MD/CEO added.
"It is quite encouraging that our investment in aura by Transcorp Hotels to support the development of domestic tourism has not gone unnoticed."
Aura by Transcorp Hotels provides a great selection of exquisite properties at the best prices, carrying out verification on all listings on the platform to ensure that guests are choosing from the right pool of options, and in keeping with the known high standards of the parent company Transcorp Hotels Plc.